Ordeal of Erebos
by HikariRosalie
Summary: Elspeth has fallen to the Sun God Heliod. Ajani and Daxos have the chance to save her. On their journey, they will have to make many sacrifices and experience many ordeals. Will it be enough to save the Champion?
1. Chapter 1

It was strange. Elspeth assumed her last thoughts would be of home, of the family she left behind with the Phyrexians. She would not have even been surprised if the final vision in her head was of Daxos, the love she had found and lost so quickly it almost didn't seem real. None of this seemed real. Her eyelids felt so heavy. Her eyes seemed to be using them as a canvas where the pictures could move. She was back in Bant, in the front yard of a quaint house secluded in the countryside. This world was familiar. It was the one she saw when she had gone to the Underworld. She watched the children she could have raised play. She heard the voice of the husband she didn't know call out to her. "Elspeth, love, wake up."

Wake up? She wasn't sleeping. She still had enough awareness to know that wasn't the case. No. But she felt like she was dreaming. The children surrounded her, the youngest clutching at the air to be lifted up. "Elspeth, please…" The voice sounded again. Her husband was at the door, smiling. _What a lovely day,_ she wanted to tell him. She wanted to hear the children giggle as they ran off to play. _I had such a strange dream. There was a world with Gods and giant sea creatures and beings that were made of stars._ She wanted these last few years to be a dream. She desperately wished he would come over after she said those things and laugh at her worries. "Oh, Elspeth," she could practically hear him whisper. "Oh, Elspeth…"

Elspeth's mind grew dim. Her heart beat in sputters as blood gushed from her wounds. But she was happy. Because the man she knew and yet had never met before did come. He took her in his arms and held her close. Then, very softly, he pushed her away. Sadness touched his features. It dwelled in the laugh lines that spread out from his mouth and in the crinkles of his forehead. Elspeth looked at him, confused. Very firmly, he looked deep into her soul and stated, "It's time for you to wake up now."

Ajani had had enough with the meddling of Gods. His anger tainted his steps as he fled with Elspeth's broken body in his arms. He cursed Heliod's name and that blasted Xenagos', too. And, although he would dare not voice it, Elspeth's actions had angered him. She could have taken Thassa's Ordeal. The Goddess of the Sea was sentimental to their cause. If Elspeth had just listened, maybe things wouldn't have happened this way. Ajani raced against time. Elspeth was only going to grow weaker. There was so much to do. So much to consider. He heard a sigh escape Elspeth's pale lips. "NOT YET!" he roared as he tried to escape Nyx. He knew not where he was going to take her, only that they couldn't remain in the world of dreams. Perhaps, he would take her back to Pharika's temple. They had healed Elspeth before. Would they defy the head of their pantheon and do so again?

Ajani knew the answer was dubious. The answer hit him just as the exit came into view. There were some on this plane who cared not for the Gods and their interference. Some who would be sympathetic to a fellow leonin begging for aid. As Ajani's footsteps reached the earth of Theros once again, he hoped against hope that he had made it in time. He couldn't stop to check Elspeth's pulse. He couldn't tell if she were breathing or not. And, to be honest, he didn't want to know if the situation was the latter. He only had to keep moving forward. The leonin would be able to help, he was sure. Maybe they would even be able to unite Elspeth and Daxos. These were Ajani's thoughts as he fled Nyx and returned to Theros, the plane's dying Champion nestled in his paws.

Ajani didn't bother to visit Elspeth as she recuperated. He would pace outside of the tent where they kept her, but he never dared to enter. Daxos was with her. Sometimes he could hear the man talking to the wounded warrior. He repeated most things- he had forgiven her, he would make sure she felt safe, he loved her. He seemed, at times, to be chanting these strange phrases. Forgiveness, safety, love- Ajani had no tolerance for these things. Daxos had not walked the planes. He had never seen a Phyrexian. And he had most definitely died too quickly to understand the full impact these things had on Elspeth. Ajani had fought with Elspeth. He knew her bravery and rage. He knew how her mind worked, the way it processed information for a battle. He found her strength beautiful. Elspeth was a pure soul that had been rendered twain by her life's unfortunate circumstances. Ajani had always been attracted to her. No matter what path he took, he always seemed to find her.

Not that he was in love. Love was for those who could stop. And he knew that's what Elspeth desperately craved. Peace. Rest. Ajani desired neither. He would always keep fighting. Elspeth had stored her painful memories away, scarring her mind and sending her into a blind fury at the drop of a hat. Ajani preferred to keep his scars in the open. He remembered his lost pride through the singing of his axe as it came down upon an enemy. Even if he wanted to forget, his one eye would always be a reminder. He didn't love Elspeth. But his affection for her knew no bounds. Ajani would never speak to the equivalence of the two.

Days passed. The healers exhausted everything they knew trying to heal the wound. Eventually, they gave up. Only Daxos and Ajani remained, the former by her side in the tent and the latter keeping guard outside the entrance. Almost a week after Xenagos had fallen to Godsend, Elspeth, too, succumbed. She opened her eyes and gripped Daxos' hand. She took in a final gasp of breath and then her chest fell. Elspeth Tirel, Sun's Champion, Knight of Bant, died. She had walked so far, seen so much. Daxos closed her once bright eyes and, after a few moments, released her hand. She was gone now.

As soon as Ajani saw movement inside the tent, he knew. He released a roar that rang throughout the plains. The rest of the leonin heard and took up the call. The plane itself seemed to be in mourning. Ajani could feel it rumbling with the sound of the gathered voices. Ajani prayed that those damned Gods could hear their cries in Nyx. They didn't deserve what Elspeth had sacrificed for them.

The spirit didn't know where she was. She was surrounded by darkness and vaguely aware of the presence of others. A clay mask adorned her face. She could dimly make out a river and an approaching boat. She moved forward with the others, copying their motions. Operating what turned out to be a ferry was a skeleton in tatters. As the spirit stepped onto the boat, a slow voice resounded through the landscape. "A dark day it truly is if you are on this vessel, oh Champion." The spirit didn't respond. She merely looked out at the grey landscape.

She handed her mask to another being as she stepped off the vessel. Their journey had been short and the skeleton had not spoken after his initial comment. There were hundreds of thousands of beings milling about. Walking among them, a giant creature with giant horns and a passive face observed. She must have caught his eye because he moved towards her. She waited for him to come up to her. They stayed frozen in silence for several moments. Finally, the giant bowed his head and turned to depart. The spirits around her seemed amazed. "The God of Death, did you see?" They chittered and chattered, looking at the spirit and then the God's retreating form. She shrugged and then moved to rejoin the group. But what she couldn't shake off was the look on the God's face before he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

Daxos requested Elspeth's remains be moved to Meletis for a proper human funeral. Ajani wanted her funeral to be handled by the leonin, who took in Elspeth when the men of Theros had cast her out. Their disagreements had started off being polite. Soon, they could scarcely look at each other. A temporary compromise had been struck. A small ceremony was held a few days after her death. She was given a mask as per both Daxos' and Ajani's demands. The leonin did not understand this superstition, but they complied. They sang her life away with haunting songs. The melodies were a mix of growls, hum-like purrs, and orchestrated roars. Neither Daxos nor Ajani were in attendance, but they both could hear the proceedings. When the tears began to stain Ajani's white fur, he wished for the first time in his long life that he had lost both eyes.

"We have to come to an agreement." Daxos had planted himself in front of the white lion. He was sick of waiting, sick of playing a politics game. Elspeth would have been his. He didn't give a damn what Ajani had done for her as a friend. He would have given Elspeth a life. Could Ajani say that? So, here he was, staring into the great, scarred face of someone Daxos would have called a hero. "I understand you cared for her, but there is no more we can do now. I can give her a proper burial, one she deserves. There will be a monument built to rival the Guardians. She may not be a God, but she will be revered as one."

Ajani knew Daxos was right. Daxos would have given Elspeth the life she so desperately longed for in Bant. He was being selfish, keeping her frozen in the way he knew her. To him, she was a warrior who knew for what she fought. She regarded life as the highest sacrifice, so it was fitting that this was the place and peoples for which she would lose her own. Ajani wanted to be able to respect that. But he couldn't. He knew Elspeth in a different light. He had lived through her fear-fueled rages. He had fought with her when the shards of Alara were thrown into chaos. If anything, he wanted her to be returned there. He cut Daxos off with a sharp wave of his claws and turned away from the man. "At least, tell me you will think on it. Her life of wandering is over. If you wish to leave, feel free to do so. But do not drag her around behind you. And do not let her be forgotten. Give Elspeth this one piece of permanence. Please." Ajani stopped and gave a brief nod.

Daxos' words haunted Ajani for the rest of the evening. Permanence. Elspeth had found permanence when she died. But permanence was not the way of a planeswalker. Perhaps, the human was correct in a different way. Ajani had business to attend to in Shandalar. He had heard snippets of rumors there of Jace Beleren. Something about a guildpact. And Nissa Revane was back on the prowl. Elves were very rarely creatures that could be trusted. They aspired to such ridiculous ambitions, and they cared not for any who was not one of their own kind. Yes, moving on was an advisable course of action. He was even losing patience with the leonin of this plane. He would make his decision known in the morning.

That night, Ajani dreamed. He was back in the Underworld. Erebos stood in front of him, a giant. He blinked and the God of Death had transformed into a cherubic child. Its arm was outstretched, holding a wooden chalice. Ajani moved forward on all fours. He looked into the cup and saw the face of a white lion, unscarred and pure, look out at him. Confused, he returned his gaze to the child. The youth smiled and Ajani could make out some familiar features in the youthful face. The child's eyes, green and blue together, consumed him until he found himself in a meadow. On all sides, the meadow and daytime sky continued until they were indistinguishable. Two stars shown and a many-armed outline stood out. The being's body looked to be made out of the heavens. "Ajani Goldmane," a voice called out. "What is the difference between a planeswalker and a God?" As he began to think on this question, the dream started to fade. Faintly, he could hear the answer, "One can die."

Ajani awoke with a start. He knew what he had to do. And he had to speak with Daxos immediately before the fool decided to act on his own. Ajani felt the urgency and dressed quickly. Outside, the sun shone against a pale sky. The endless field the leonin occupied stretched out for unspeakable distances. And two stars, out of place and yet unnoticed, twinkled down on the lion.

That night, Daxos also dreamed. He was in the ocean, surrounded by crystalline waves. Innumerable creatures flitted around him in the waters. In the distance, he could see the port of Meletis. Suddenly, the statues on the port lifted themselves from their posts and began to walk on the water. One maintained its male characteristics while the other shifted. Its helmet and armor came together to form a hood that was at once stone and flowing. The spearpoint of its weapon lengthened to look like the blade of a sword. Daxos began to sink with each step they took. When the two were directly above him, the changed statue lifted its spear and sent it striking into the water, straight through Daxos. He awoke with a gasp, clutching at the scar over his heart.

Daxos dressed slowly in an attempt to calm himself. Maybe Ajani was not so off track. Elspeth was uncontrollable in her power. All of her attempts to find the life she desired had been thwarted. How much did he really know about the beautiful woman he loved? He shook his head. She may have killed him, but she risked the plane's future to save him. She had limitless power and heart. Right when Daxos finished, Ajani entered his tent. Daxos wasn't given time to question. "I know how to save her," Ajani said excitedly.


End file.
